


Crush.

by Plisetskitty



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Mild Angst, Pining, im still abysmal at titles, mitsuki and Ryuu are the only ones with any braincells, sougo and nagi are here too they just only speak like twice, there's like. A nod to ryuu liking sougo but it's not important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 06:11:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17401523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Plisetskitty/pseuds/Plisetskitty
Summary: Tamaki seeks out advice on what to do about his crush on Iori and Riku, who are dating.Disaster ensues.





	Crush.

Tamaki sat upside down on the couch in the dorm living area, dangling his long legs over the back of the couch. Today was a rare occasion, as he had found himself alone in the dorms. Whereas normally nearly every area of the house would be bustling with noise and energy, now it seemed eerily quiet in comparison. Tamaki didn't like it.

He'd filled the silence by blasting music from his headphones, but the emptiness of the building was still strange.

He did, of course, enjoy having time to himself, as it could be draining to constantly be around six other people, but at the same time, it was often a comfort to know that his dormmates were around.

He sighed as a sappy love song came on shuffle. It wasn't usually the type of music he listened to, but this song in particular made him think of Riku and Iori.

Just his luck that he'd fall for both of them. And that they were already dating each other.

They seemed so enamored by each other that he figured they'd never consider dating him. A selfish thought, perhaps, but it wasn't like he was mad at them. He wanted the best for them and was happy that they were happy together. He just wished he could be a part of it, too.

He didn't know what to do about it at this point.

He turned the love song off and scrolled through the rest of his music, hoping for a distraction from his feelings.

The silence at first seemed to make it worse, leading him to overthink.

 _Should I tell them? Should I hide it? What if telling them ruined everything? How would I even say it?_ Panicked thoughts raced through his mind.

Temporary relief came with the sound of the front door opening. Tamaki looked up to see who it was, though he'd be glad to see anyone. Anyone to talk to and distract him from his feelings.

Hell, he'd even be perfectly content to sit and watch Magical Kokona with Nagi right now.

It seemed that wouldn't be necessary, as it turned out to be Yamato who came through the door. He lifted a hand in greeting before making his way towards the kitchen.

"Yama-san!" Tamaki called after him, making a split-second decision. He leaped up and padded towards the kitchen after Yamato. "Can I talk to you? I need some advice."

"Mmm." Yamato replied around a mouthful of food.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Tamaki asked, eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"Sure."

"Can we talk somewhere private? I don't want anyone else to hear if they come home."

Yamato raised an eyebrow, but nodded and led the way to his own room. Once inside, he shut the door, sat down in the room's only chair, and cracked open a can of beer. "What's up?"

"I've got a little love problem." Tamaki said. He sat down criss cross on the floor in front of Yamato, and looked up at the older man with wide, innocent eyes.

"Ah." Yamato nodded sagely. Inwardly, he wondered how in the name of Musashi he was supposed to help with _this_. Outwardly, he gave no indication of this. He was known for his acting skills, after all. "Continue."

"So." Tamaki hesistated. Did he really want to say any of this out loud? Did he want to openly admit to any of this?

Ah, it'd probably come out eventually anyway.

"I have a big. Huge. Crush on Rikkun and Iorin." He admitted, his face turning beet red.

"Both of them?" Yamato's eyes widened.

Tamaki only nodded.

"Christ, Tama. And they're dating, too..."

"Don't remind me. I don't know what do to. Tell them? Hide it? I don't want to mess anything up, and I don't think they like me back." He paused. "Might feel nice to get it off my chest, though. It sucks, 'cause every time I'm around them my heart just goes _whoosh."_   He waved a hand as he said the last word.

Yamato began to rhythmically tap his fingers on the arm of his chair with one hand, stroking his chin with the other, doing his level best to look like he had any clue what he was talking about.

"My best advice," Yamato offered, "is you act like you don't care."

"What?" Tamaki was no expert on love. If he knew what he was doing, he wouldn't be here asking for help. But this didn't seem quite right.

"Act like you don't care. Avoid them if you can. Hope the feelings go away."

"No offense, Yama-san, but that doesn't sound right."

 _Fuck, I've been caught._ "Try it. What could go wrong?"

Ah, yes, the most reassuring words known to man. _What could go wrong._

Tamaki shrugged. "I'll try it, but if it doesn't work, you owe me ten King Puddings."

"Deal."

Tamaki left Yamato's room, feeling just as confused as he had when he'd entered. But at this point, he was willing to try anything. _Maybe avoiding them_ will make the feelings go away, he thought.

Tamaki had never thought more wrong.

He avoided speaking directly to Riku and Iori at dinner, and chose to hole up in his room for the rest of the night rather than joining his dormmates in the living area. He didn't want to be alone; he'd had enough of that earlier. He felt a pang in his chest as he walked away from everyone else, but dismissed it, thinking it would go away over time.

It didn't.

In fact, it seemed to get worse.

He barely made any conversation with Iori as they walked to and from school over the next several days. He wanted to, but refrained, instead choosing to put in his earbuds and attempt to distract himself from the awful silence he'd created.  If Iori noticed Tamaki's silence, he didn't comment on it. That somehow made it even worse. Did Iori not care even that much?

Tamaki barely acknowledged Riku when they were around each other (which was always around several other people. When caught in a room alone with Riku, Tamaki would quickly excuse himself). He did his best to look unimpressed when Riku was animatedly going on about his day, or something he enjoyed. It pained Tamaki to do this, but he didn't know what else to do. Even if Yamato's advice only seemed to make things worse, Tamaki clung on to it, hoping against all hope that his feelings would disappear.

Distracted by his own aching heart and the anxious thoughts racing through his mind, Tamaki didn't see how much he was hurting Riku and Iori. He didn't see the worry reflected on Iori's face, or hear the sadness that laced his voice on the rare occasion they did speak. He didn't see the crestfallen look Riku got when Tamaki didn't acknowledge what he had to say, or when he ditched Riku after being left in a room together.

At least things couldn't get any worse.

Or could they?

What started out as a normal dinner became a fiasco.

"After dinner tonight," Nagi announced, "I ask that everyone come to the living area. We are all free tonight, and I think it would be lovely to spend time all together, as we have not in a long time." He looked very pointedly in Tamaki's direction.

"That's true..." Mitsuki agreed. "I've barely seen Tamaki outside of work for a week and a half."

"Tamaki-kun has seemed quite distant." Sougo replied. "He doesn't talk much when we're working, and he seems upset most of the time."

"He hasn't been talking to you either, Ousaka-san?" Iori raised an eyebrow.

"I'm right here!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"Is something the matter, Tamaki-kun? You can tell us anything that's bothering you."

"No!" There was a catch in Tamaki's voice, giving away the fact that something was very much bothering him. He looked around the table, five pairs of eyes staring him down, seeming to bore into him.

Riku refused to meet his eyes.

Sougo raised an eyebrow, but didn't pry.

Iori was not so gracious. "If I've done something to upset you, I'd prefer you tell me what it is instead of avoiding me. And that you stop taking it out on Riku." He still sounded unused to saying Riku's given name, having only started using it very recently.

"That's not it!" Tamaki shouted, frantically waving his arms.

"Why else could you possibly be avoiding us?!"

Tamaki's eyes widened and he felt his heart rate accelerate. He didn't want to explain this here, with all eyes on him. He didn't know what to say. So he blurted the first thing that came to mind.

"Blame Yama-san!!!" He exclaimed, leaping from his seat and scrambling to his room, completely abandoning his half-eaten dinner. Once he reached his room, he slammed its door shut and made sure to lock it behind him. He leaned his back against the door, panting, and slid downward till he was sitting knees-to-chest on the floor.

"Uuuuggghhhhh," He moaned, burying his head in his hands. This was a disaster. A complete, utter, total disaster.

Several people came up to on his door over the course of the night.

First came a soft tapping on the door.

"Tamaki-kun, if you need to talk I'll be in my room." Sougo spoke through the door, his tone even and gentle. "We all just want to make sure you're okay..."

Second came a jiggling of the doorknob. Tamaki's eyes widened in horror, terrified that Sougo would bust his door down for a second time.

His fears were assuaged when Mitsuki's voice sounded out from the hallway. "Do you want the rest of your dinner?" He asked, tone laced with worry.

"Not hungry anymore."

"I'll save it in the fridge for you." Mitsuki replied. He lingered at the door for a moment, as if waiting to hear something. Tamaki thought he heard a sigh.

"Please talk to Iori." Mitsuki added quietly. "He's hurting." He didn't wait for a reply before walking away.

Third came a sharp rapping at the door, and the soft thud of something being placed on the hallway floor.

"Bought you some pudding." Yamato said, sounding sheepish. "I threw in a couple extra. Didn't think ten would cover it."

Tamaki didn't even open the door for the pudding. He got up and flopped onto his bed, wanting to be as far away from everyone's voices as he could.

He really had to do something about this.

With a sigh, he took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. Somebody he knew had to be able to give him advice. Nobody else in Idolish7 would do. His finger hovered over Momo's number for a moment, but he decided against it. He had nearly reached the bottom of his favorite contacts list when he gasped.

He knew who to ask.

The next afternoon, Tamaki left the dorms. He didn't particularly want to talk to anyone else at the moment, so he left a note by the front door.

Going out. Be back later. Got my phone. - Tamaki.

When he stepped outside, he found a car waiting for him. The driver's side window rolled down, revealing Tsunashi Ryuunosuke, who beckoned towards him. "Hop in."

Tamaki climbed in on the passenger side. "Thanks, Ryuu-aniki."

"No problem." Ryuu looked at Tamaki with concern in his eyes. "So, what's the problem? I heard things kind of went south at dinner for you guys last night?"

"Who told?"

"Sougo-kun. He sounded worried."

Tamaki sighed. He didn't want to be worried over, especially by Sougo, but the situation probably warranted it.

Ryuu didn't pry any farther as he drove across town. "Wanna go to my place? Tenn and Gaku have work today. It'll just be us. No one to listen in."

Tamaki nodded.

"You can put on some music if you want." Ryuu gestured towards the car radio and the auxillary cord dangling from its input.

Tamaki couldn't put into words how much he appreciated Ryuu not prying. Tamaki would talk when he was ready.

It was only when he was finally sitting in Ryuu's living room on the couch, with Ryuu in a chair positioned across from the couch, that he finally found his words.

"I need love advice." He blurted. "I've got a huge crush on Rikkun and Iorin and I asked Yama-san for advice and he said to avoid them so maybe the crush would go away but that didn't work and everything kinda got fucked up at dinner last night and I hurt Rikkun and Iorin and they think I'm mad at them and I gotta fix it but I don't know what to do." Tamaki gasped for breath once he got all the words out.

Ryuu's eyes widened. "Wow. That's. Quite the problem you've got."

"I fucked up, didn't I?"

Ryuu's expression softened. "It's okay to make mistakes. But when you hurt other people, you do have to make it right."

Tamaki nodded. "So I should probably tell them."  
it  
"You should always be honest with other people about how you feel."

"So why don't you confess to Sou-chan?" Tamaki asked, a mischievous smile playing at his lips.

Ryuu's cheeks turned a deep red. "I..." He stammered. "We aren't talking about me right now!"

Tamaki stifled a laugh.

"Anyway," Ryuu continued, having somewhat regained his composure, "you should tell them. I don't know if it'll fix everything, but  
at least they'll know you're not angry at them. You might still have to patch things up after that, though."

"I'm just scared that if I confess, it'll mess everything up. But I guess everything is already pretty messed up."

Ryuu nodded. "Good luck, Tamaki-kun."

Tamaki hung around Ryuu's place for a while longer, trying to prepare himself for what would more than likely be one of the most awkward, embarrassing conversations of his life.

He chatted with Ryuu for a while longer, but had a hard time truly enjoying himself. The anxiety what was soon to come stayed at the back of his mind.

On the drive back to the dorms, Ryuu noticed that Tamaki was fidgeting nervously.

"Do you need some more time? We can stop for dinner," he offered.

"No. I gotta do this as soon as I can." _Or I'll never do it,_ Tamaki thought.

They pulled up to the dorms.

Tamaki took a deep breath.

Ryuu placed a hand on Tamaki's shoulder. "Good luck again, Tamaki-kun."

"Thanks, Ryuu-aniki."

"Let me know how it goes."

Tamaki nodded. Hands shaking, he got out of the car and went up to the front door. He was shaking so much he thought he'd drop his key and lose it in the evening's darkness. He tightened his grip on it, and he was able to unlock the front door without any trouble. It wasn't until he went inside that the trouble would begin.

He found Mitsuki standing in front of the entryway, arms crossed. "What were you thinking?! Just leaving like that after last night!"

"I left a note."

"That's not what I meant!" Mitsuki lowered his voice. "Iori thinks you're mad at him. Riku thinks you don't like him anymore. You said to blame Yamato, and he won't say _shit_. I don't know what's going on but you need to _talk_."

"Fuck." Tamaki wanted to melt into the floor. "I messed everything up. I was so scared of messing everything up by _saying_ that, but I just messed everything up by _not_ saying it."

"Saying what?" Mitsuki asked, eyebrows raised.

"I _like_ Iorin and Rikkun. Like crush like." Tamaki's voice was barely over a whisper. "I asked Yama-san for advice and he told me to avoid them so maybe the crush would go away."

"Oh my god. Well. Don't tell me that, go tell them! I'll deal with Yamato." Mitsuki replied. "They're in Iori's room. You might wanna open with an apology; they're both pretty upset."

Tamaki nodded, and rushed off without another word.

Once in front of Iori's door, he hesitated. But he knew what he had to do. No matter the results, he had to tell the truth. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Iorin? Rikkun?"

"What is it, Yotsuba-san?" Iori's cold reply came from inside the room.

"I-I need to talk to both of you. Can I come in?"

"Go ahead, Yotsuba-san."

Tamaki opened the door slowly. He shuffled in and immediately dropped his gaze to the floor, unable to meet Riku or Iori's eyes. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm sorry I hurt you guys. Sorry I avoided you and acted like I didn't care."

"Why were you avoiding us?" Riku asked, the first words he'd spoken to Tamaki in days.

"This is gonna sound really, really dumb. But it's because I like you guys." Tamaki averted his eyes, afraid to look at Riku.

"What."

"Why would you avoid us because you like us?"

"I thought maybe it'd make the feelings go away. Yama-san told me to try it." _Probably shouldn't have listened,_ Tamaki added silently.

"So you distanced yourself from your best friends because? You like us?" Iori looked baffled. "Isn't the point of being friends that you like someone?"

"Iori, I don't think that's what he meant."

"It isn't! I mean like-like. Crush like. Gay like. I'm gay. For you two."

"Oh!" An ecstatic grin spread across Riku's face. "I like you too!"

"Oh, thank god we're still friends." Tamaki breathed a sigh of relief. Now he just had to patch things up with Iori.

"Yotsuba-san. He means he has feelings for you."

"What?"

Riku nodded enthusiastically. "I do."

Tamaki blinked in confusion.

Iori sighed. "Yotsuba-san, I have feelings for you as well, but if you're going to be avoidant when issues come up, I don't know that I want to date you." He didn't sound happy.

"I panicked. I won't avoid you guys anymore. If I have something to say, I'll do my best to explain it." Tamaki promised.

Iori nodded. "I hope you can stick to that." He said, but there was no malice in his voice.

"So, are we going to make it official?" Riku asked, voice tentative.

"You guys would be okay with that? Dating me, too?" Tamaki's jaw nearly dropped at the idea.

"Yeah. We talked about it before when we realized we both liked you. We were going to ask you how you felt about it, but then you scared us when you stopped talking to us."

"Oh..."

"It's okay. I think we both still want this." Riku looked to Iori for reassurance. He nodded in reply.

"Yotsuba Tamaki," Riku began, nearly shaking with excitement, or perhaps nervousness. "Would you do us the honor of becoming our boyfriend?"

Tamaki giggled, something he didn't often do. He couldn't believe this was happening. His mind was racing so fast he could barely speak, but he managed a small "yes" in reply.

"Yay!" Riku whispered something in Iori's ear, and Iori grinned, a sight seldom seem.

They got up together and walked towards Tamaki. When they reached him, they both stood on tiptoe and reached up to plant a kiss on one of his cheeks.

Tamaki pulled them both close. "I can't believe we're dating." He said, voice soft, as if speaking too loud would break the spell. "I feel so lucky."

"We feel the same, Yotsu-" Iori cut himself off. "Can I call you Tamaki?" He asked softly, tentatively.

"Of course." Tamaki didn't see the point in asking. He'd been telling Iori just to call him by his given name since they'd met. But he didn't want to spoil the mood.

"We feel the same, Tamaki."

"Should we tell everyone else?" Riku asked.

"Can't we wait? I wanna hold you guys for a while longer."

"Sounds fair."

The three of them awkwardly shuffled over to the bed, Tamaki's arms still wrapped around Iori and Riku, laughing all the way. Finally, they collapsed on the bed, Tamaki pulling his new boyfriends even closer.

They stayed in silence for a while. Tamaki had never thought he'd be so lucky. But here he was. It had taken quite the mess to get to this point, but he wouldn't change a thing about it. This was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed !!  
> My twitter is [ here ](https://mobile.twitter.com/transyuki) feel free to come scream about i7 with me !!


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